I have a 2 1/2 year old dog who is very, very serious and intense about playing fetch. He tripped over a tree stump at a fast speed and consequently tore a nail in half. It was a sloppy tear and something I wasn't comfortable dealing with myself, so I brought him to the vet this morning.

They had to cut the nail, so they gave him a sedative and local anesthetic and took care of the nail. He's on two painkillers/ anti-inflammatory meds to be taken every 12 hours.

The thing I'm concerned about is what to expect over the next few days. He's clearly in pain and I don't know what's normal or what I can do for him. He seems restless and is constantly whimpering. This is the first time he's had an sort of physical problem, so it's heartbreaking to see him in pain. Any advice for a concerned owner?

Sorry to hear about your furkid's injury. We are going through this now with our 7yr old Zoey, She also ripped her nail and by the time she started limping it was already infected.

The vet did exactly the same thing as yours. I assume the paw is taped right now too. Zoey never slowed down at all despite the fact that the vet said it would be very painful.

Just make sure you give him his meds as prescribed (with or without food...whatever the vet said) and keep him comfortable. Once the nail is gone it is raw nerve so of course he is in some pain but it won't kill him and it won't last.

He's taking 400mg amoxi-tabs and 75mg of rimadyl. His paw is bandaged, but he's still walking around on it. I did call the vet shortly before they closed and asked a lot of questions and explained his current situation. They seemed unfazed and told me it's all normal.
It's so hard to see my strong, active running partner down and in pain! He's currently asleep in my lap (70 pound lap dog here), only 3 more hours til his next dose of painkillers!

I wonder if the whimpering isn't from the sedative, Zibmai. I know that our dogs can get very vocal and antsy when the sedative is wearing off. If that's it, he should be more relaxed by tomorrow morning.

We've had nail injuries here and the good news is that they seem to heal pretty well.

I hope he's feeling better soon! (Zoey, too, diandpat!)

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I hope your boy is feeling better today. Torn nails can be a real nuisance. My second pup years ago split a nail in half. She was vet treated like yours, but the nail never healed properly, I guess the nail bed was damaged. In the long run after about six months we ended up having to amputate the entire toe as the nail was a continuous source of pain and infection. I don't think our injury was as common as most toe injuries though. So I hope your boy heals quick. That said, do keep an eye on the new toenail to make sure it comes in properly. I think someone else said it already, but pics are always appreciated.

Thank you for the responses all! Aker seems to be in better spirits today. He woke up and was ready to play fetch with his friend, but got too rowdy and tore the bandage off which caused the nail to start bleeding again. I had to wash his foot and bandage the foot again and cover it with a stocking. He's sneaky and takes the stocking off to lick the paw when I leave the room, so it looks like its going to be another boring day inside for the pup.